Driver health checks fail OAPs

Doctors want the current screening of the over-70s replaced with an on-road assessment

Medical screening of older drivers should be abolished and replaced with on-road driving assessments because it does not reduce road accidents and often results in capable drivers losing their licences and becoming isolated, according to new research.

Currently, an Irish driving licence automatically expires when a person reaches 70 years of age. It cannot be renewed until a GP has carried out a medical examination and confirms the person is fit to drive.

This system has been shown to be ineffective, as medical screening often cannot determine whether a person is capable of driving safely, according to the first Irish Cochrane review in geriatric medicine, a system that involves collating all possible sources of high-quality research.

"When a doctor is trying to assess whether a person is capable of driving, they regularly don't know what to look for because there is no structure to the screening," said Des O'Neill, author